Thoughts on Callaway and others

After the Mets’ 11-1 start, they have since gone 16-30 that has had them at 27-31 for the season, and based on watching them last month, it is not going to get better. The Mets bullpen has been awful, and their hitters have not been hitting for a month now. The Mets have scored two or fewer runs 22 times this season. In this homestand, the they scored seven runs and have 23 hits to show for it. This puts the onus on first-year Mets manager Mickey Callaway fair or not.

It is not his fault that his boss Sandy Alderson fielded a roster that can’t field, hit, run or pitch, but a manager’s job is to try to get some wins out of that roster and have his guys together under adversity. This is Callaway’s first test, and we are going to find out what type of manager he is. A good manager finds a way to get his team to survive adversity by winning games. Look at the Tigers. That’s an awful baseball team that can’t pitch or hit, but they are 29-33, and that’s a credit to the job first year Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire has done. There’s something to say about managers somehow getting the most out of his roster with less despite what sabermetrics say.

We are going to find out about Callaway the next few weeks. He has to show he can manage a Major League Baseball team. No one wants to hear excuses from him about New York being a tough town to play for why everyone is pressing. Leaders find ways to get results whether it’s New York or Cleveland. He can’t have his team quit on him. For all of Terry Collins’ flaws, one thing about him was his players played for him and they found ways to win.

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Firing Islanders general manager Garth Snow and Islanders coach Doug Weight Tuesday afternoon was a mere formality when the Islanders hired former Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello to run their hockey operations couple of weeks ago. There was no way Snow and Weight could come back when the Islanders were preaching a fresh start. It was going to be hard sell for the fans.

Hiring Lamoriello was the type of boost the Islanders fans needed. They wanted change, and they wanted Islanders owners to deliver. They did by doing everything it took to hire the Hall of Fame general manager. Hiring Lamoriello meant a culture change of accountability, credibility, structure and discipline for the Islanders. It was long time coming going back to 1995.

This is a win for Islanders fans. They deserved better from a franchise who has given them bad hockey for several decades now. The Islanders are now back as an NHL franchise just by hiring Lamoriello. It was long overdue, and it’s a whole new day for this organization.

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The NBA Finals have offered nothing so far. Yes, the Cleveland Cavaliers took the Golden State Warriors to overtime before they gave in, and if J.R. Smith did not have a screw up, maybe Cavs win, but the bottom line is the Warriors are loaded offensively for the Cavaliers to beat them four times. Better chance this ends in a sweep than this series going six. In layman’s terms, the Finals will not go back to Oakland.

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It’s fair to wonder if Yoenis Cespedes is deciding to milk his injury now that he got his money and the Mets are being awful. This has been his M.O. throughout his career. It’s that behavior Mets front office feared when they were debating about resigning him, and now their fears are realized. The Mets were damned if they sign him because of that and damned if they don’t fearing fans’ vitriol.

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The Giants should not be in any rush to give Odell Beckham Jr. an extension. Last we checked, he is still under contract for two years. He hasn’t won anything or acted like an adult to get an extension. Oh, and this is this ankle injury that he has to show he can recover from. He can skip so many voluntary camps just to prove a point, but he is going to have to show up to work eventually to show he is worth the loot. Holding out for the season is not going to be an option for him, which is why the Giants are not going to bluff.

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It shouldn’t be surprising WFAN’s Mike Francesa tweets so many times a day. He is opinionated, and Twitter is a place where he can spew his thoughts. It was a matter of time until he come around to using Twitter after once saying it should be against the law that athletes, broadcasters and media people tweet.

Twitter was made for him. He is entertaining, and the replies to his tweet are laugh out loud funny. It only enhances his brand. As polarizing as he is, he is one of the most influential sports personalities based on people immediately reading and reacting to his tweets on what’s going on in the world of sports.

The New York sports fans are beneficiaries of him being on Twitter.

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It’s hard to get excited about the Yankees’ regular season wins when the only thing that matters is October. Regular season games are nothing more than spring training games for the Yankees. That’s the life the Yankees live with.